Earthlight Wiki
Earthlight Earthlight is a sandbox game which allows players to build items and constructions in procedurally generated massively multiplayer 3D worlds. The game is currently in development by String Theory, LLC., the result of a series of virtual world projects lead developer Jordan Bellino had undertaken in coordination with Woodbury University. The gameplay is inspired by Minecraft, The Sims, and especially Second Life. The game is split into two variants: explore and creative. Explore is a game mode where players must collect items and gather resources in order to construct shelter and villages, eat to regenerate health, fight monsters that appear in wilderness areas, and participate in games other players have made. In creative players are granted access to easy-to-use block building, 3D modeling, and scripting tools. This allows players to redefine their game and build without limits, creating their own experiences and environments within the territories they claim ownership rights over. The constructions, items, tools, and vehicles they create can then be sold to other players in the in-game market for game coins or USD. Gameplay Earthlight is based around a simplified game SDK development toolset with seamless integration. By allowing or disallowing privileges to groups of tools, a user's experience can vary from a strictly end-user, player in a predefined game to the person who scripts the game. This is done by providing access to iterative unlocking toolsets above a hotbar. A player administrating a territory (overseeing an interest group) may allow or restrict a visitor's use of any number of these menus and hotbars: The backpack provides access to any collected game items allowed in a territory. The toolbox allows the user to use collected materials, craft from regeants, and arrange parts in a building simulation. Shapes provides preset building shapes and meshes to click into the world and assign materials to. Transform gives a list of tools used to shape, stretch, select, and move objects. Sculpt lets a user transform an objects mesh with tools that smooth, scrape, fill, cut, etc. Paint provides access to tools that change textures and videos. Audio can assign sounds and music to objects and worlds. Animate has animation and joint tools. Script lets users code objects using standardized, modular blocks of code or API calls. Actions allows editing and management of non-object based activities such as tools, dances, game pieces, skills, and spells. This specialization of the building process allows a user to define the actions of fellow group members and visiting players in a variety of ways when they step into the user's territory, or village. They could choose to allow any actions in an open sandbox style, restrict certain abilities such as scripting but still allow visitors to use their build menu and tools, restrict all creative abilities and give players a limited, local backpack full of items used to play a game, or even allow only the creative ability to use paint tools and graffiti anything but not build. Within a territory the administrator can define the rules they would like, but as soon as a player steps outside of those boundaries their universal, default exploration backpack and toolset is restored. Other important aspects of the game are social profiles, achievements and leaderboards, the market, world map, quests, and outfits. Please feel free to change and add to whatever information you find on the wiki. This section was written to overview the main categories of user experience - like it's a different frame of mind when you paint an object as opposed to sculpting it, or browsing the marketplace, and different sets of tools are utilized. Thanks all!